Love Gained, Love Lost
by GuinnyofBern
Summary: Marinette builds up her courage to confess to Adrien thanks to some advice from Chat Noir. Adrien builds up his courage to confess to Marinette thanks to some advice from Ladybug. Will things go smoothly for the two love-struck heroes? Hawk Moth has been oddly silent, but how long will that peace last? And are our heroes prepared to deal with their dreams and nightmares?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, but I am a very big fan of the show.

 **A/N:** See end of chapter for notes.

 **CHAPTER ONE: In Which Friendly Advice Is Given**

It was a quiet night on patrol. It had been a week since the last akuma attack. Ladybug and Chat Noir remained vigilant in their patrols, but they'd both be lying if they said they didn't welcome the break from akuma fighting. While they made sure to actually patrol, the nightly watches had started to feel more like two friends hanging out rather than a couple of superheroes patrolling the city. Though Marinette had noticed that Chat Noir's flirting, while still very much present, wasn't actually to try and win her heart. It was just the kind of flirting that best friends do between each other sometimes. Even Marinette found herself flirting back with him, but he took it in stride and didn't get excited like he normally would have.

Ladybug finally found out why when Chat Noir asked her if he could seek her advice on girls. Marinette tried not to laugh but couldn't stop a giggle from escaping. She apologized for laughing, but she was just so surprised that he was asking for advice on girls.

"What's the situation?" she asked.

"It's like this," Chat Noir said, "there's this girl in my class who I've started to become friends with. She's really shy, but she has the cutest smile. She's also one of the kindest people I've met. And while I do still like you, my Lady, it feels different around her." Chat shifted around as he talked.

"Different how?" Ladybug was so fascinated to see an actual nervous Chat as he talked about this girl. Maybe… maybe she could ask him advice on Adrien?

"Well I, I just smile a lot when I think about her, and I get a little nervous when I talk to her. And I think she could… like me for well being _me_. When I'm around her I feel like I can be myself and not who everyone expects me to be."

Ladybug smiled. Chat Noir definitely has a crush. "Do you like her?" Marinette asked.

Chat Noir paused. He looked down at the ground and shifted his weight again. "Yeah. Yeah I think I do. I think I like her, Ladybug."

Marinette's smile got bigger. "Well then you should tell her! Just pull her aside after class or something and just come right out and tell her that you like her!"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Ladybug sighed. "Though to be honest, Chat, even _I_ don't have the courage to do that."

Chat Noir let out a laugh. " _Ladybug?_ Not having enough _courage?_ "

Marinette laughed. "Sounds silly doesn't it? I just get so nervous when I'm around him."

"The guy you like?" Chat asked. Marinette nodded her head. It was silent between to two for a moment until Chat said, "I'll do it! I'll tell the girl I like tomorrow that I like her! It's the last day of class before break so what better time? And I'll have the courage to do it because my Lady believes in me!" Chat moved his face really close to Marinette's. If it was Adrien she'd be passing out. But this was Chat, one of her best friends, and him invading her personal space was nothing new. "And I'll believe in you, my Lady. I know you can tell the lucky guy you like that you like him."

Ladybug smiled. Having Chat believe in her actually _did_ help. At least in her head. "Then I'll have to tell him! I can't let my favorite cat down." The two winked at each other. They said their goodbyes as their patrol was done.

Back at her house Marinette's nerves started to get the better of her. She had taken one of the pictures of Adrien off her wall to practice. Yes it was embarrassing to practice to a picture (which she had no idea a certain cat was currently pacing in his room doing the same thing), but maybe if she stared at his picture and could say it then staring at his actual face wouldn't be as bad. She hoped. Marinette slapped her cheeks. Chat Noir believed in her. She could do this. Marinette wished that tomorrow both she and Chat could have some good luck as she fell asleep for the night.

* * *

' _You can do this. Chat believes in you. You can do this'_ Marinette chanted to herself all day long at school. ' _Just tell him. Je t'aime. You can do this.'_ Alya noticed Marinette concentrating very hard (most definitely not on physics). The red head knew it had to be Adrien related somehow as her blue eyed friend kept making glances at him.

Marinette kept missing her chances to talk to Adrien all day. Catching him at the curb in front of the school as he waited for a car to pick him up was her last chance. Marinette saw him standing talking with Nino.

Her nerves were getting to her again as she started walking towards him.

"You can do it, Marinette!" Tikki whispered.

Marinette smiled at her kwami. Tikki, Alya, and Chat all believed her. Marinette tried to summon up the courage she had when she was Ladybug as she walked closer to Adrien.

"A-Adrien!" Marinette said just as his car pulled up. Where was her good luck when she needed it?

"Hey, Marinette," he said, sweetly. It almost made Marinette forget what she wanted to say.

" _Je… Je…_ um, _Je,"_ Marinette stammered.

" _Tu?"_ Adrien said as Nathalie exited the car. She told Adrien that they had to leave immediately as his father had scheduled a last minute photoshoot for him.

Adrien sighed. He turned back to Marinette (her courage almost completely gone now) and said, "I'll see you later, Marinette."

"Ye-yes…" Marinette said as she waved bye. Then Chat Noir's words rang in her ear. He believed in her. He believed she could do this. She couldn't let her best friend, her partner, down. "Adrien! I like you!" she shouted just as he shut the door to the car.

It hadn't quite sunk in to Marinette what she just shouted until she heard Adrien say, "Marinette?" She looked up to see his car window rolled down and him staring at her with his beautiful green eyes.

"I… _Je t'aime,_ Adrien!" Marinette shouted again, her face completely red.

As the car started to drive away she watched Adrien slightly lean out of the window and shout, "Marinette! _Je t'aime aussi!"_

Marinette's jaw dropped as her face remained completely red. She felt a hand hit her back and saw Alya next to her. Her jaw had dropped too, as did Nino's. "I'm so happy for you, Marinette!" Alya squealed as she pulled her friend into a tight hug.

Practically her whole class was congratulating her (as her and Adrien _did_ kind of just make a scene in front of the school). All but two: a certain blonde with flawless hair and lip gloss and her orange haired bespectacled best friend.

* * *

 **A/N:** And already a confession! Everything is well! Well not really. I'm not that nice :3

I feel in love with this show and these precious cinnamon buns in 1.2 seconds.

Stay turned for the next chapter! A bientôt!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug. I'm just a big fan.

 **A/N:** See end of chapter for notes

 **CHAPTER TWO: In Which There Are Puns, Dates, and Butterflies**

He couldn't believe it. Marinette confessed to him. And he confessed back. Loudly. He slammed down on his bed. Adrien knew his face had to be completely red. He was never embarrassed by anything he said when he was Chat Noir. That was Chat Noir, not Adrien Agreste. But what he did, what he shouted to Marinette, that was very much not behind the mask of Chat Noir. That was very much himself hanging out a car window shouting his feelings to the girl he liked. Adrien had never been so thankful of a break from school. He then felt bad for Marinette. He was driving away in a car while she was still at the curb in front of the school surrounded by their classmates.

Adrien rolled over to lay on his back. He looked over at his desk where Plagg was happily eating cheese. The kwami had joked earlier that Adrien needed to embarrass himself in public more as the boy had given Plagg a small block of his favorite cheese: Camembert.

He thought back to the events of the day. He remembered telling himself that he needed to pull Marinette aside somehow to tell her how he felt. The last thing Adrien wanted was to let Ladybug down by not confessing to Marinette.

Ladybug was still his first love, But Adrien was happy he had gotten to know Marinette throughout their first school year together. It was just before the start of second year that he realised he liked her. It was actually Ladybug that helped him realise it too. Adrien never said her name to Ladybug, as they had already agreed with Ladybug's crush that names would not be mentioned; it was a step towards learning each other's identities which they had agreed would still remain a secret.

Adrien knew exactly when his interest in Marinette began. It was the day Nathaniel had been taken over an akuma and had made Marinette his target. Adrien was impressed with how Marinette handled herself. She was confident and didn't stutter, freak out, or run away. It was a complete change from how she acted around him in school. It made him wonder which side of her was the mask. His curiosity got the better of him, and he made several attempts to talk to Marinette, and her friend Alya as well. Soon he, Nino, Marinette, and Alya had become a group and were always hanging out together between classes and during lunch breaks. When his work and being Chat Noir didn't get in the way, he made sure to hang out with his friends. Falling for Marinette felt so natural. He just hoped she liked him too.

The confession, however, did _not_ go as planned. He tried all day to pull her aside and talk to her, but something, anything, kept getting in his way all day. It must have been his bad luck. He had just decided he would happen to stop by a certain bakery the next day and confess then when Marinette had called his name. And of course just at that moment Nathalie would appear and force him away. Adrien couldn't believe it when Marinette shouted that she liked him. And he really couldn't believe it that he shouted his own feelings back at her. The photographer at the shoot kept yelling at him because Adrien kept remembering what he had done, ruining the shots.

He had to tell Ladybug that he successfully confessed to his crush and the bonus that she liked him back. ' _Should I call Marinette my girlfriend?'_ Adrien thought. He shook his head. He may have confessed, but he still needed to properly ask Marinette out. You know, make it official.

Adrien was brought out of his thoughts by Plagg saying, "You should tell her about me so she can bring me cheese croissants!"

"I'm not going to have my princess be a supplier for your cheese obsession," the blond said. A second later he realised exactly what he said. Chat Noir called Marinette princess. Adrien made a mental note to never call Marinette princess to her face.

If he did and she found out he was Chat Noir… well who knows how she would react. She seemed to be impressed with Chat Noir, but Adrien did hear her telling Alya that his flirtations were a bit much. Marinette also didn't find his flirtations with her very sincere since he flirted with Ladybug all the time. She even questioned the sincerity of his flirts with Ladybug if he would willingly flirt with other girls. That kind of stung.

"It might be better if she doesn't know," Adrien said. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt because she was the one he loved. It was already bad enough when Ladybug would get hurt in a fight. "If she were hurt…" Adrien never finished his thought and thankfully Plagg didn't pester him about it.

* * *

It was the first day of their half term holiday. Adrien's words still rang in Marinette's ears. He liked her back! The thought made Marinette jump up and down for the hundredth time.

Tikki was very happy for Marinette, though the little kwami was curious about a few things. "Are you going to tell Adrien about me?" she asked.

Marinette stopped jumping. She sat down in her desk chair as she thought about it. Should she tell Adrien she was Ladybug? He did seem to be a big fan of Ladybug. "I'm not sure," Marinette said. She sighed as she cupped her face with her hands. "I still haven't even told Alya yet. And it might be safer for Adrien if he didn't know. The last thing I want is for him to get hurt trying to protect me because I have to fight an akuma. It's bad enough when Chat Noir puts himself in harm's way to protect me and he's just my best friend! I couldn't handle it if Adrien got hurt because he tried to protect Ladybug when it should be the other way around." That and he might care more about her being _Ladybug_ than being _Marinette_.

"You could always ask Chat Noir what he would do," Tikki suggested. "And you could see how things went for him!"

"Chat!" Marinette exclaimed. Her kwami was right. He had asked for advice before so she was sure he wouldn't mind her asking him.

Marinette checked the time. She was pleased to see that it was only an hour until she was meeting Chat for patrol. Akuma appeared at all hours of the day, so their patrolling had to happen all hours of the day, not just at night. Or at least they had more free time to patrol during the day now that they were both on school holiday. Marinette couldn't help but wonder what school Chat Noir went to. She pushed the question out of her mind though as she made sure to finish her chores so she would be free to meet her friend.

"I'll call Adrien when I get home," Marinette said to herself. She had to know if their mutual confession meant they were dating, but for now superhero duties were calling louder and these chores were not (sadly) going to do themselves.

* * *

They always met at the Eiffel Tower and would move on from there. It was close to the center of the city while also giving them a high vantage point of the city to decide where to patrol. Ladybug was too antsy to asked Chat Noir about how his confession went to start patrols right away. She was grateful that Chat Noir was the same way.

"What did she say?" Ladybug asked.

"She told me she liked me!" Chat said. He had a huge grin on his face and his green eyes were practically beaming. "I still want to properly ask her out, but she said she liked me. Definitely didn't confess how I meant to, I mean, I planned it to be purrfect but I kind of just let the cat out of the bag in a very embarrassing way."

There were his signature cat puns. Ladybug rolled her eyes at those, but she was happy for her friend. "I'm sure it wasn't that embarrassing, I mean, you're probably the class clown. In a good way! So I'm sure it was just fine."

"I wouldn't say class clown exactly," Chat Noir said. ' _More like the exact opposite.'_ he thought to himself. "What about you? How did your confession to the lucky tom go? I'm paw-sitive it went well." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

Ladybug rolled her eyes again. She would've thought for sure he would be tired of using cats puns after a year, but that clearly was not going to happen anytime soon. "It did go well. Ish."

"Ish?"

Ladybug sighed. "I messed it up. Bad. I was nervous and just kind of went for it… in front of our entire class practically."

Chat laughed. It reminded him of how Marinette confessed. Ladybug must really like this guy. "And? What did he say? He didn't give you any ca-" He stopped himself from speaking as Ladybug glared at him. "Attitude did he?" Chat said, removing the pun he was about to say. Last thing he needed was for Ladybug to throw her yo-yo at him.

Ladybug shook her head. Her cheeks turned pink as she said, "He told me he liked me."

"Con-cat-ulations!" Chat said, quickly ducking out of the way of a flying yo-yo.

Laughing, the two began their patrols. It was another quiet day. If they weren't so giddy about their confessions, they probably would've thought that it was odd that Hawk Moth hadn't sent out any akuma for a week.

Ladybug almost forgot to ask Chat Noir for advice before their patrol ended. Thankfully Tikki spoke up before they parted and Ladybug was able to grab Chat's arm before he ran off.

"Chat, can I asked you for advice?" Ladybug asked after he questioned why she stopped him from leaving.

"Of course, my Lady," he replied.

"Are you planning on telling your girlfriend that you're Chat Noir?" Marinette was almost worried she said something wrong as Chat was uncharacteristically quiet, but she could see on his face he was thinking of a response.

"I actually thought about this last night," Chat said. "I don't think I will. At least not yet. Not until I have to. I'm too afraid she'll-"

"Get hurt," Ladybug finished Chat's sentence. Chat nodded. "I'm going to keep it hidden from my, uh, boyfriend too," Ladybug said, blushing at calling Adrien her boyfriend. "I'm afraid he'd try and protect me from akuma even if he knew I was Ladybug."

"Paw-bably," Chat said. He felt compelled to make a pun because the thought of Marinette getting hurt because of him was too heavy to think right now. "I know I would."

"You already do." Ladybug placed a hand on his cheek. "I don't want to worry about him getting hurt, but I wish you would stop getting yourself hurt for me. Think of your girlfriend now, kitty."

Chat smiled as he reached up and placed his hand on Ladybug's.

The two heroes congratulated each other again on their successful confessions as they parted ways. With their patrol for the day over, Marinette and Adrien returned to their civilian lives. Marinette planned to eat dinner and then call Adrien. She was still nervous thinking about it which hopefully food and cookies could help calm. Adrien had decided he would call Marinette to see if she wanted to get dinner with him; he really didn't want to eat alone again. Marinette's luck helped her plans go off without a hitch. Adrien's bad luck, however, decided that when the boy got home he would be greeted by his father telling him to change as they had a formal dinner they needed to attend.

* * *

Marinette stared at her phone. She could do this. The embarrassing part was already out of the way. This part was easy. Right?

Right as she was about to call Adrien, a message came through on her phone. A picture message? From Chloe? What poor sap tried to confess to her this time? Thinking about a message from Chloe made her remember months back when poor Kim confessed to her. Marinette blushed as she also remembered her first kiss. She had hoped it would be with Adrien, but she supposed if she had to kiss anyone (other than Adrien of course) Chat Noir was the next best option.

Just as she opened the message her computer began to beep at her. Alya was video calling her. Marinette slowly moved to answer the call while still looking at her phone. She looked up at her computer screen and saw Alya with a frantic face.

"Marinette!" Alya said. "Do not open the message from Chloe! Just ignore it okay?" Then Alya noticed Marinette's blank stare. The redhead could see what her best friend was holding. Marinette's phone was turned enough to where Alya could see what was on it. Chloe's picture message, opened for the dark haired girl to see.

The picture was of her and Adrien together. Her arms wrapped around him, and his arm around her waist, their fathers standing behind them. It was captioned with the words "Congratulations to the new couple Adrien and Chloe!"

Marinette knows she shouldn't let it get to her. It was probably just Chloe doing it on purpose, or well Sabrina in this case maybe. But their fathers were in the picture too. _Adrien's_ father, who was never around, was in the picture. And Adrien was dressed in a suit. Marinette got out of her computer chair, ignoring Alya as she headed towards her bed. She ignored Tikki's concerned words too as she dropped onto the mattress. Marinette happened to look over and see a picture of Adrien laying on her pillow from where she was staring at it last night and this morning. Adrien liked her… right? His words weren't a lie. Or were they? Marinette brought her legs up onto her bed as she set her phone down. She picked up Adrien's picture.

Before Marinette could start to cry she felt something slam into her head. That something was Tikki. A very concerned Tikki. Marinette snapped herself out of it. It was Chloe after all. It _had_ to be fake. Marinette rushed back down to her computer, hearing Alya still shouting for her.

"Don't worry, Alya!" Marinette said. "I'm sure it's completely fake! According to his schedule he should have a photoshoot tomorrow at the park. I'll swing by and see him."

Alya wasn't completely convinced that Marinette wasn't worried about it, but she decided to change the subject. Dwelling on it would definitely not help her friend. And it didn't Marinette barely got any sleep that night trying to not over-analyze the picture.

The next day, Alya had come to meet Marinette at the girl's house. Alya was not about to let her best friend confront Adrien alone, _especially_ if he really was dating Chloe after he just confessed to Marinette. When the two girls arrived to the park, there were no photographers, no photoshoots happening, and no Adrien Agreste. Maybe they moved locations? The two girls hoped so as they began to walk around. Alya kept a vigilant eye out for Adrien. While looking around she didn't notice that Marinette had stopped walking until she ran into her.

"Marinette what are you-" Alya cut herself off as she looked past Marinette to see what the girl was looking at. There was Adrien Agreste. Sitting at an outdoor café eating with Chloe, her father, and one Monsieur Gabriel Agreste. Smiling. Alya swears she heard something snap. Next thing the girl knew was seeing Marinette running away as fast as her legs could take her. "Marinette!" Alya shouted. But Marinette didn't stop running. Alya looked back and saw Adrien standing, looking towards her. She gave him the strongest glare she could give.

Alya began to run after Marinette, but after a block she felt something jerk her arm back. She turned, wanting to yell at whoever it was because her _best friend_ needed her, but it was the one who hurt her best friend. Adrien was panting. He no doubt sprinted after Alya to catch her.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked.

"What's going on?" Alya practically shouted. "First you tell Marinette that you like her and then you start dating Chloe!"

Adrien let go of Alya's arm. "Wh-what?" he stammered. "I'm not dating Chloe. Why would you even think that?" Adrien paused to let Alya answer but then said, "Does _Marinette_ think that?"

Alya glared at him again. "What about this huh?" she asked, showing him the picture message from Chloe. Alya had found out that every girl in the class received the message. As did all of the boys. Though Nino didn't see it until Alya told him about it.

Adrien stared at the picture with the most dumbfounded expression Alya had ever seen him give. "Okay, Alya, this did happen, but I am _not_ dating Chloe. Our fathers are friends and had planned dinner and lunch together with us joining them and that's all it is."

Alya continued to glare at him. " _Everyone_ got this picture, Adrien. Or I guess everyone except you. Marinette knew you had a photoshoot scheduled today and we came to find you to clear the air on it. And she finds you with Chloe."

Adrien began to panic internally. His legs immediately started moving as he ran towards Marinette's house. He had to get to her. He had to fix this. Alya was right behind him. Adrien cursed his bad luck again as they got caught by a red light at each crosswalk.

' _I'm coming, Marinette.'_ Adrien thought as he couldn't stop fidgeting waiting for the light to turn green.

* * *

Back in her room Marinette laid face down on her bed. She kept turning her head away from Tikki. Marinette knew she shouldn't be so mean to Tikki, but she just wasn't in the mood. Normally Marinette was always positive, even when facing opposition. She never let Chloe get to her too badly, but seeing Adrien happily sharing meals with her. Maybe they really were dating. Marinette felt like a fool. She embarrassed herself confessing to Adrien. Did he think she was just telling him that she liked him as friends? This was almost worse than outright rejection. Marinette continued to ignore Tikki and her ringing phone. The girl then noticed a pair of green eyes looking at her. There on her bed as the picture of Adrien she had been looking at earlier that day. Marinette sat up, grabbing the picture and staring at it. A slightly cool autumn breeze blew in from her open window, rusting the picture in her hands.

Marinette didn't notice she had started crying until she saw tears fall onto the picture. The realisation caused her to cry more. Through her blurred vision she didn't notice that a black butterfly came fluttering into her room from the open window. She didn't notice the black butterfly going into Adrien's picture. She did, however, notice a voice that spoke in her head. The voice promised her that she could forget all about her love and that she would be granted the power to do so, she just had to do one little favour. Marinette should have realised that this was Hawk Moth. She should have realised that she, Ladybug, was about to be taken over by an akuma. She should have realised that Tikki was panicking from seeing the moth outline slowly start to form on Marinette's face. Instead the only thing going on in Marinette's mind was this question: do I want to forget about Adrien? Before she could answer the question to herself, Marinette's vision went black. She faintly heard Tikki yelling her name as she felt her body fall to the floor.

* * *

 **A/N:** And I will not a-paw-logize (:3) for delivering on my promise of pain (as in actual pain, not bread ha ha French pun get it?). The final paragraph of this chapter was actually the plot bunny that started this, and where it takes me I look forward to seeing! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I currently have the next two chapters outlined, but I can't ignore the call of homework. Hopefully I can knock out my work quickly, and get started on the next two chapters soon. A bientôt!

Edit: Fixed a typo


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug

 **CHAPTER 3: In Which Marinette Dreams of Cats**

Downstairs in the living room, Sabine heard a loud thud coming from Marinette's room. The thud wasn't what worried Sabine-the lack of hearing Marinette react did. Sabine went up the steps into her daughter's room to check on her. "Marinette!" she shouted as she saw her daughter lying on the floor. "Tom!" Sabine screamed. She could hear her husband rushing up the stairs. "Oh, sweetheart, please wake up," Sabine said as Tom entered the room. Tom immediately rushed to his wife's side. Marinette's face was red, and her forehead felt very warm to the touch.

"I'll go close the bakery," Tom said. He needed to get his daughter to a doctor. Leaving his wife to look after Marinette, Tom went back downstairs. His worry caused him to fumble about, but he finally managed to make it to the front door of the bakery. Just before he locked it, Alya and Adrien arrived. Tom saw the frantic looks on their faces.

"Is Marinette here?" Alya said when Tom opened the door to let her and Adrien in. She tried to hide worry from her voice, but it didn't work.

"She's upstairs," Tom said. "I'm sorry, Alya, but I need to close the bakery. It's Marinette…"

"What happened to Marinette?" Adrien said, his voice full of panic.

Tom led Adrien and Alya to Marinette's room. Alya, without hesitation, ran to Marinette's side when she saw her. Adrien idled by the doorway. He green eyes widened. "Mari-" Adrien cut himself off from finishing her name. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. No, he refused to believe it. It had to be a trick. Marinette did not have a red moth pattern on her face.

 _'Not her.'_ He thought.

* * *

 _"Hey, um, Ladybug," Chat Noir said._

 _Ladybug always found it odd when Chat Noir hesitated when he talked. It was so unlike him. "Yeah, Chat?"_

" _I know our transformations are about to run out," he said, "but I was wondering if maybe… Gah, I want to tell you something, and I need to tell you now before I lose the courage to ever tell you."_

 _Ladybug blinked. She could hear the beeping of her earrings and his ring. They were running out of time. But there was something about the desperate look in his eye. She just couldn't say no to him. Marinette had to think though. How could they talk without revealing who they were to each other? She looked around and then it hit her._

" _Follow me!" she said. Ladybug grabbed Chat Noir's arm and dragged him towards the bathrooms, for once thankful that an akuma attack happened at her school again. "Get in a stall. And make sure you keep your feet up!"_

 _Chat Noir nodded. He didn't have much time to protest. His transformation was seconds from running out._

 _Both heroes managed to make it into stalls just in time. Marinette laughed as she heard a voice beg for cheese followed by Chat Noir sighing. She thought of Tikki and opened her purse to let the kwami inside it to get to the cookies Marinette had put in there for her._

" _So you… you wanted to talk?" Marinette said._

" _Yeah," Chat said. There was silence for a moment, and then he said, "Do you remember the time when I was taken over by a spell from an akuma? When I almost took your miraculous from you and…." Adrien couldn't let himself finish that sentence._

 _Marinette remembered. She had to kiss Chat to break the spell. It slightly embarrassed her thinking about it. "What about it?"_

" _I'm sorry," Chat said. She heard him shuffle, but he made sure his feet remained hidden. "I never apologized for all the things I said to you. And for… for almost using-"_

" _It's okay," Marinette said. She hated hearing the pain in her friend's voice. "I'm just glad I was able to get you back."_

" _Me too. I couldn't forgive myself if I hurt you, my Lady." He sounded more like his normal self, but his voice was still a little strained._

 _Maybe it was because she was Marinette now and not Ladybug, but the girl couldn't help but smile and blush at his words. She and Chat Noir had gotten closer since that day. Not closer in a romantic way, but her trust in him had become stronger, completely unwavering and absolute. Marinette almost considered Chat Noir to be her best friend. But he didn't know the other side of her that wasn't Ladybug. Would he still be her friend if he actually knew Marinette? Marinette brought her head to her knees. It made her sad thinking about losing Chat as a friend. It reminded her of the time when he confessed his feelings for her. It slightly broke her heart turning him down, but there was no way she could accept his feelings. Not when she was still in love with Adrien. It wouldn't be fair to Chat. Marinette had cried when she returned home that day after she and Chat parted._

 _Patrols had been awkward for a few weeks after that, but when akuma appeared they worked together easily. Neither one hesitated doing their signature fist bump after purifying the akuma. There were still times of awkward interactions, but they slowly were recovering._

 _Chat continued to flirt with her, but Marinette could see a difference. Chat had accepted that Ladybug's heart belonged to someone else and that was it. He wasn't going to press her further. Chat would much rather be just friends with Ladybug rather than ruining their partnership by continuing to pursue her romantically._

" _You know that day," Chat said, breaking Marinette out of her thoughts, "I had planned to tell you that I loved you. At first I hated that it didn't work out that way, and of course all those things I said to you, but I'm glad I wasn't able to."_

" _Chat?"_

 _Chat Noir laughed. "Thank you for rejecting me, Ladybug."_

 _Marinette was not expecting that. How was she supposed to respond to that? 'You're welcome' would definitely be inappropriate in this situation… right?_

 _Thankfully Marinette didn't have to say anything as Chat Noir continued saying, "I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. But thanks to that I was able to… well slowly able to move on. I still love you, my Lady, that won't change, but being your friend… That's enough for me."_

 _Marinette smiled. "I'm glad I didn't lose your friendship, Chat. I would miss my cat of a best friend."_

 _Chat laughed. "And I would miss my bug of a best friend."_

 _The two sat in silence for some time. It was peaceful knowing that the other was close and that they could sit there in their civilian forms without worry of being pressed to reveal who they were behind the mask. Marinette would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about who Chat really was. But for now this was enough._

" _Well, my Lady, I need to be heading home," Chat Noir said. Marinette saw a flash of green, knowing that he must have changed back._

 _Marinette nodded her head. "Me too." With a flash of pink she was back to being Ladybug._

 _The two heroes exited the stalls they were in at the same time. They met eyes as they said their goodbyes and left the school going their separate ways. Once home and in the homework and akuma free zone that was her bed, Marinette made a silent wish that as close as she was to Chat Noir, she could be to Adrien._

* * *

"A…dri…en…." Marinette said in grogginess, a tear forming in her eye. She could faintly hear beeping sounds in the background and quiet words being said somewhere off to her side. The girl thought she felt something in her arm, but her eyes felt too heavy to open to see what it was. She tried to say his name again, but a throbbing pain in the front of her forehead cut off her words. She could hear the beeping increase in speed. Marinette heard shuffling of feet, and possibly even her name, but a sweet, calming voice called her back to sleep.

" _Forget… mirac… nette…" Marinette tried to concentrate on the voice to hear his words clearer, but part of her kept screaming to wake up._

 _Then she felt something land on her shoulders. She looked to her left and on her shoulder was sitting a black cat with glowing green eyes. On her right shoulder, however, was a purple butterfly. It began to fly away from the girl. Marinette started to follow it, ignoring the meowing of the cat on her shoulder. The butterfly was headed in the direction of the voice, almost like it was leading her to it._

 _The cat jumped down off of Marinette shoulder. It got between her and the fluttering butterfly. He hissed at her, his back completely arched with his hair standing on ends. Every time she tried to move around the cat it kept getting between her and the butterfly. When Marinette stood still and stopped trying to move, the cat turned and began to chase the butterfly around, swiping its claws at the butterfly. It would occasionally take glances back at Marinette to make sure she did not move, but the cat's objective was to destroy the butterfly. Marinette wondered what the butterfly did to the cat. Butterflies weren't bad…right? Moths she could understand not liking, but butterflies were beautiful and peaceful. Marinette sat down, mesmerized by the cat chasing the butterfly, tuning out the voice that continued to call her._

* * *

 **A/N:** Probably not what you were expecting right? But what fun would it be if she became an akuma right away? :3 This is where it's kinda me inserting my own headcanons/au-ish ideas. I just had the thought of what if someone tried to fight against the akuma possession? Especially if it were Marinette or Adrien because they know very well what the akumas are and who Hawk Moth is. Also got the idea from one of my favorite live action adaptations of an anime and this fic spiraled from there. A bientôt!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug

 **CHAPTER 4: In Which There Are Videos, Photos, and Phone Calls**

"How is she doctor?" Tom asked. Sabine stood next to him, holding onto his arm. Behind them Adrien and Alya attentively listened, though Alya never stopped glaring at the blond.

"Physically there's nothing wrong with her," the doctor said. He looked back at the sleeping Marinette and then back to her parents. "There were no signs of a concussion from her fall and her fever has broken. We're going to keep her here until she wakes up. Once she does, we'll do another check just to be sure."

Tom and Sabine thanked the doctor and went to Marinette's bedside. Before Adrien could enter the room, Alya grabbed his shirt collar.

"We're going to talk. Now," Alya said. She pulled Adrien away from the room and headed for a small vending area nearby. Adrien protested at first, but then willingly let Alya drag him along. "I want an explanation _stat_ ," Alya said as she took out her phone, no doubt planning to record the boy's every word. Seeing the boy hesitate she said, "Look, Adrien, you are going to explain to me and to Marinette, because I _will_ show her this when she wakes up, exactly why yesterday you told Marinette you liked her, then got dinner with Chloe, and then today had lunch with her."

Adrien made a mental note to never anger Alya again. _Especially_ as Adrien Agreste. At least Chat Noir could hide behind a mask. "Alya," he said, "I _meant_ it when I told Marinette I liked her. I do! Yesterday when I got home, Marinette was all I thought about. I planned to call her right after dinner, but then I found out I was going to be eating dinner with my father and it was going to be formal. I met him at the restaurant. I had no idea Chloe and her father were there as well! We ate dinner and yes the photo did happen."

"And Chloe made sure the photo was also taken with her cell phone?"

Adrien sighed. "Yes. But I had no idea she was planning to send it to everyone saying we were dating!"

"Then why get lunch with her the next day?" Alya snapped. "What about calling your _dear Marinette?_ "

Akuma didn't even scare Adrien, he did have his Lady to help back him up after all, but facing against the best friend of the girl he liked? He reiterated his earlier mental note in his head. "I planned to, but my father had moved my afternoon photoshoot to being earlier in the morning so I would have time for that, my Chinese lessons, and then an afternoon lunch with him when my photoshoot was originally supposed to be." _And I still had to meet Ladybug for patrol,_ he thought. "I was going to call her after the lunch was over." Adrien looked Alya in the eye despite her still glaring daggers at him. He was not about to look away and have Marinette's best friend think he was lying.

Alya looked back at her phone and stopped the recording. She made sure to save that video and set it up to record another one. She held the phone up again, making sure Adrien was front and center on the camera. "Okay Adrien," she said, "I have one last thing I want you to say: who you like and who you are or are not dating." The red head pushed the record button.

Adrien took a breath. "I like Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he said. "I am not dating Chloe and have every intention of asking Marinette to be my girlfriend."

Alya grinned. She stopped the recording, saved it, and prepared to send out a mass message. "And sent," she said.

The blond gave her a confused look until he heard his phone beep. He had a video message. From Alya. Adrien looked at her, his phone, and then back at her. He hesitantly opened the message. His face went red as soon as it did. The in-coming "Congrats, dude!" text from Nino did not help. He put his phone on vibrate knowing that more people would message him. He also dreaded getting a call from his father. Though he also kind of wished his father would call him. Even anger would show he slightly cared.

"I'll let you off the hook," Alya said. " _For now._ But don't you dare hurt my best friend again, Adrien Agreste. Now let's go see her."

Adrien nodded his head and followed Alya back down the hall towards Marinette's room, face still completely red. The two teens joined Tom and Sabine by Marinette's side. She occasionally mumbled in her sleep but none of it was coherent. Adrien never took his eyes off her face. Marinette's face was back to its normal color, which made the boy wonder if he really did see a moth shape on her face or if it was just red from her fever.

The silence between them (aside from the white noise of the hospital) was broken by Alya's phone ringing. "Hello, Nino," she said as she answered and left the room. Adrien had no doubt he was calling Alya to get the full details behind the video.

"Honey, don't we have more clients to call to apologize for being closed today?" Sabine asked.

Tom gave his wife a confused look. She returned his look by looking at her daughter and then to Adrien. Adrien noticed their silent exchange, but tried to keep his focus on Marinette. He felt like he was eavesdropping though the husband and wife said no words out loud.

"Ah, yes, we do," Tom said. He stood up and followed his wife to the door of the room. On his way out, he placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder. "She'll be okay," Tom said. "Marinette is a fighter."

Adrien smiled and gave a quick nod. He'd seen first-hand how brave Marinette could be when an akuma attacked school. She always tried to get her friends to safety and to keep them out of Ladybug and Chat Noir's way when the two showed up (easier said than done with Alya as a best friend of course).

"Plagg," Adrien said once he was sure he was alone. The little black cat-like kwami came out of Adrien's jacket pocket. He naturally expected cheese, and the blond was already prepared with cheese in hand. "When an akuma possesses a person… it always takes them over immediately, right?"

"Not always," Plagg said after gulping down his cheese. "If they have a really strong will they can fight it. But it's pretty rare. You probably were just seeing things cause she was hurt and lying on the ground."

"I hope you're right," Adrien said. He reached out and grabbed Marinette's hand. "It just looked so much like a moth shape. If Marinette were to become an akuma, could I help Ladybug fight her? I mean I would want to save her of course! But I couldn't stand it if I ended up hurting her in the process."

"Ladybug's miraculous light would heal everything though. And Marinette wouldn't even know!" Plagg said.

Before Adrien could say Plagg had to duck back into Adrien's jacket. Nurses and doctors entered the room, bringing in another patient. Alya came in soon after along with Marinette's parents. Adrien felt his phone buzz again in his pocket. He lost count of how many times he ignored it. He had missed nine calls and had four voice mails. Looking at the voice mails, he saw that he had one from Chloe, two from Nathalie, and one from his father. Chloe's was surprisingly her asking if Adrien was mad at her for the photo, though she swore she had nothing to do with the caption. Nathalie's first voice mail was what he expected—professional. Her second sounded more frantic. His father probably yelled at her. Adrien hesitantly opened the voice mail from his father. "You are to return home, immediately," was all his father had said. No "son are you okay?" "who were you running after?" "how is your day?" "did you have any plans?" Anything to make him sound like a normal father.

"Your father?" Alya asked. Adrien didn't realise he was making a face until he noticed Alya, Tom, and Sabine looking at him.

"Y-yeah," Adrien said. "I don't want to leave Marinette, but-"

"It's okay," Alya said. "I'll call you if she wakes up, okay?"

Adrien thanked the girl and Marinette's parents for letting him come with them to the hospital. They thanked him for caring for Marinette enough to come. Adrien wished Marinette a speedy recover for their sakes. He made his way out of the hospital. Once outside, Adrien ducked into an alleyway and called for Plagg. Adrien had remembered that Ladybug told him she would patrol in the early evening while he would patrol that night. He never liked patrolling without her, but sometimes their schedules demanded it.

"Don't you need to go home?" Plagg asked.

"My father can wait," Adrien said. "I need to talk to Ladybug. I can't exactly tell Alya to be on the lookout for Marinette turning into an akuma now can I? But I can tell Ladybug. Plagg! Transform me!"

Chat Noir raced across the rooftops to the Eiffel Tower. He hoped he could catch Ladybug before she went swing through Paris. He waited at the tower for an hour, but there was no sign of his Lady. He tried calling her, but there was no reply and there was no sign of her on the map of Paris that showed on the screen on his staff. Adrien even pulled up the Ladyblog (though he had a feeling Alya wouldn't be updating it tonight) just in case, but it was silent there as well. ' _Maybe I missed her,'_ he thought. Chat sighed. "Let's go home," he dejectedly said.

* * *

Adrien was prepared for a lecture but instead he received silence. The quiet made him restless, he was half tempted to sneak out as Chat Noir and try to look for Ladybug again, but before he could decide Nathalie knocked on his door and entered his room. "Your schedule," Adrien," she said as she held a tablet out for him. Adrien walked over to her and took it. Before he could look at it she said, "You father would like to see you in the dining room." With that she walked away very quickly.

He looked down at the tablet. He almost threw it as he stomped off towards the dining room. Adrien didn't care that he slammed the dining room door open. His father was calmly sitting there with a glass of liqueur.

"You doubled my work load?" Adrien snapped.

"Adrien, you are to use your holiday wisely," Gabriel Agreste sternly said. "You are not to spend it with bad influences."

"My friends are not a bad influence!" Adrien hissed. "And my gi—my friend is in the hospital!"

"Adrien, I expect you to not be late to any of your photoshoots." His father stood up. "You are also to apologize to Mayor Bourgeois. Your action today was an embarrassment to him. Tell Nathalie your friend's name and hospital room number. She can prepare a get well gift for you." And with that he was gone.

Adrien stood in the dining room, fuming. But he expected something like this. Before the (now probably infamous) picture of him and Chloe, he had made a scene when she wrapped her arms around him. And of course the scene he made running from the café towards Alya and Marinette earlier. Adrien knew he had to apologize, but most likely his father would be gone the entire rest of the term holiday. He'd have to ask Nathalie to apologize for him.

"Why are you bothering to apologize?" Plagg asked once the two were safely back in Adrien's room.

"He's still my father, Plagg," Adrien flatly said. "Who knows maybe I'll get some of Ladybug's luck and he'll cut back my work?"

"Doubt it," Adrien and Plagg said together. "And how could you get some of Ladybug's luck when you haven't even seen her?" Plagg said while eating another piece of cheese that Adrien did not remember getting for him.

Adrien walked over to his desk. He powered on his computer, bringing up the Ladyblog on all three screens. It was silent. No reported signs of Ladybug, no reported sightings of akuma, nothing. Adrien decided he would check again later, though he really did wish he could talk to Ladybug soon about Marinette.

He picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts. "Hey Nino," he said. "Can I ask a favour?"

* * *

"So he really can't come to the hospital? At all?" Alya asked Nino.

Nino sighed. "Yeah. Dude's practically been placed on house arrest! His dad filled up his holiday with nothing but work and said he doesn't have time to go to the hospital to see friends! I told him to explain that Marinette was his girlfriend, but dude told me his dad left on a business trip right after. Yesterday he said he tried to sneak out, but his dad made sure he's under surveillance. "

Alya slammed her first onto the cafe table, almost causing her coffee and Nino's soda to spill. "It's been four days, Nino." Alya didn't even try to hide the worry in her voice. Last night they thought Marinette was starting to wake up since her eye lids kept twitching and her heart rate increased slightly, but she didn't.

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon, Alya," Nino said as he placed a hand on Alya's fist.

Alya nodded. She quickly finished her coffee. "Well, I need to be going. I have to post an update to the Ladyblog tonight."

"But there hasn't been a Ladybug sighting in four days."

"Five. And while it's not unusual for an enemy to not show up for that amount of time, it's rare that not one of my readers has even seen Ladybug out on patrol. They've spotted Chat Noir out on midnight patrols, but he's always been alone. There's a lot of theories going around." Alya stood. Nino followed after her and the two started walking towards Alya's home.

"What's the most popular?"

"That she's a student on holiday term and went out of town. Second most popular is that her and Chat got into a fight."

"You sound like you don't believe either of them is right," Nino said. After spending more time around Alya it had become easy for him to pick out how much she believed any new Ladybug theory that she had learned.

"The evidence points to Ladybug being a student. The history textbook, her disappearance coinciding with the start of the half term holiday… it fits but…"

"But?"

"My gut tells me something else is going on. I've looked over the pictures and videos of Chat Noir out on patrol and while he _looks_ like he's patrolling, this one picture from last night bothers me," Alya said. She pulled a picture of Chat Noir up on her phone and showed it to Nino. It was of photo of Chat Noir with the focus being on his face. He looked worried. "If he was on a typical patrol where there were no enemies and it was quiet, why would he look so worried?"

* * *

Adrien looked at himself in the mirror. He would need make-up again to cover the bags under his eyes. It was now going into the fifth day of Marinette being in the hospital and there had been no changes. He barely even found time to call Alya and Nino for updates between work, lessons, (little) sleep, and patrolling as Chat Noir. Adrien left his bathroom and went back to his computer. Theories of where Ladybug went were still a hot topic, as were pictures of Chat Noir on patrol. What really worried him was a post Alya had made that perhaps Ladybug was missing and she used a certain picture of Chat Noir as evidence. Adrien sighed. Ladybug would have told him if she was leaving Paris for holiday right?

He had to fight back a yawn at breakfast. Though it probably wouldn't have mattered since he was eating alone as always.

Adrien barely paid attention to the passing of time that day. He didn't even bother checking his phone any either. The boy tried to catch a few minutes of sleep during a break in his afternoon photoshoot when he heard his phone ring. He highly considered not answering it until he saw his bag tip over from Plagg flying into the side of it.

"Plagg, what are you doing?" Adrien harshly whispered. He looked around and picked up his back. He glared at the kwami inside.

"Your phone!"

"Yes, it's ringing. Break ends in a minute I don't have time—"

"It's Marinette calling!" Plagg said.

Adrien immediately grabbed his phone. Sure enough Marinette's name and picture were displayed on the screen.

"Marinette!" he said.

"H-hi… Adrien," Marinette's quiet voice said through his phone.

"You're awake." He couldn't hide the relief in his voice nor did he try to. Adrien sank to the ground.

"Yeah," Marinette said. "I woke this morning. Alya said she messaged you, but she hadn't heard anything back."

"I'm so sorry. I've been at photoshoots all day."

"Alya said you probably were. She told me that your father tripled your work load."

"'He did, but enough about me. Marinette, are you okay?"

"Yes," she hesitantly said. "They still aren't sure why I was out for so long, but everything seems to be okay. They're letting me go home now."

"I'm glad," Adrien said. He couldn't help but smile. Hearing her voice and knowing that she was okay helped calm him down.

"Alya showed me the videos. I, um, thank you. For what you said. About wanting to ask me out."

He blushed. He had almost completely forgotten all about them. "I meant every word I said in those videos, Marinette. I—" Adrien was cut off by one of the photographer's assistants calling him back. "I'm so sorry, Marinette. My break's over, but I promise you I'll come by your house as soon as I get off work tonight, okay?"

"Actually Adrien, um, do you mind just calling me instead? I want to talk but I just… I don't want see you. Not yet."

* * *

 **A/N:** Rolling this chapter out with chapter 3. It became much longer than I expected, but I'm happy with the result. I have the rest of the story outlined, but schoolwork demands my attention so chapter 5 may not come out for another couple of weeks, but I will do my best. 3 A bientôt!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug.

 **CHAPTER 5: In Which Marinette Sees Adrien**

Marinette rubbed her forehead. She hated the words that came out of her mouth. She hated them even more after she heard his voice crack as he said, "O-of course. I'll call you later! I promise!"

"Marinette?" Alya questioned.

Marinette hated making Alya have that concerned look too. It was bad enough she'd been out for five days but to now hurt her best friend and the guy she loved? "I'm fine, Alya," she said. "I just need some time to think, and it's easier to do that if he's not standing right there. Where I can see him. And know that he likes me back and wants to ask me out. You know me; I'd just turn into a stuttering mess."

Alya seemed to buy her excuse. She hated lying to Alya, though she did have enough practice doing that by not telling her she was Ladybug. Marinette just wasn't sure how she was supposed to explain to her friend that when she saw Adrien in the video her head started to hurt. She felt like she was having a migraine. And again now being home and in her room with so many pictures of him that migraine was coming back. His voice, however, didn't make her head hurt. Until she could figure out why exactly seeing him caused a migraine she decided talking was best. And maybe after talking enough then her head wouldn't hurt when she saw him.

"So you're really not letting what Chloe did get to you?" Alya pressed.

"Not anymore," Marinette admitted. "But I'm sure I'll see some for of retaliation from her because of that video. She would never take it out on Adrien, but she'll definitely take it out on me."

"Thank goodness for holidays right?" Alya smiled.

Marinette let out of a small laugh. She was thankful that Alya had come with her, but Marinette was happy when Alya went home for the night. Marinette first went to her computer. She didn't care _what_ picture it was but she had to get Adrien's face off her background. First picture she found was of Chat Noir. ' _Why do I even have this photo?'_ she thought, her headache still there. So she changed it to a picture of her with her parents. The pain lessened, at least until she looked at her wall. Marinette quickly ripped down all the photos and shoved them in a drawer. She looked around her room. No photos of Adrien were in sight. Her headache was now gone, though she still felt tired.

"Hey Tikki, are you here?" Marinette asked. There was no reply. She began to look around her room, in drawers, in pockets, in her bags, in her bed, but the little kwami was no one to be found. Marinette found it odd that Tikki wasn't near her, so she kept searching around her house. Maybe the kwami was just asleep and couldn't hear her. Perhaps some chocolate chip cookies left on her desk might attract Tikki out of hiding. Marinette wanted to keep looking more but exhaustion was getting to her. She decided to take a nap before Adrien called. And hopefully when she woke up Tikki would be right next to her.

* * *

Adrien stared at his phone. It was almost ten that night by the time he was finished with work and lessons. He knew he was going to call her, but he was worried about what she might say. He took a deep breath and pushed the call button. His leg started fidgeting as he heard it ring and ring. He calmed down when he heard her quiet, "Hello?"

"Marinette! I hope I'm not calling you too late," he said.

"No," she said. "I've actually been up for an hour. I took a nap earlier. How… how was work?"

Adrien relaxed into his chair. He loved how calming her voice was. "It was long, and tedious. I just wanted it to end so I could talk to you. Marinette are you… are you mad at me?"

"No. It wasn't your fault, Adrien. Your father forced you to go right? And I know how Chloe is."

"Yeah… I'm sorry I didn't realise what she was doing."

"N-no! It's not your fault, Adrien!"

Adrien took another breath. "Could I, um, could we, when you're feeling up to it of course you just got out of the hospital today I wouldn't want you to push yourself, could we maybe go out for coffee sometime? I'll get Nathalie to re-arrange my schedule to make time for it."

"Ah, um, well…" Marinette started to panic a little. _'I can't exactly tell_ Adrien _that seeing his face gives me a headache. Not after he just asked me on a date!'_ she thought. "I, uh, I'm still… I'm still a little nervous around you. And not because of the Chloe thing! Because. Um. Well I've liked you for so long and you're the coolest guy in school and I knew there was no way you could like me back but then you did and I was just starting to get used to being around you as friends and now being around you I'd be around my boyfriend and that just brings all my feelings back and I'm rambling aren't I?"

Adrien tried to not laugh. He really did. But he found Marinette's rambling cute and so like her that he couldn't stop himself from laughing from her being her and the relief that Marinette was being herself. Hearing Marinette freak out from his laughter (Adrien imagined her face being a cute shade of pink) made him laugh more. "Then would you allow me to still call you? Everyday?"

Marinette's face went from a shade of pink to red. "I would allow that. And that might be easier for you too, right? Alya told me your schedule was packed. I don't want you to strain yourself trying to fit in time to visit me."

"Thanks, Marinette. I promise I won't strain myself. But I will still call you every day. And you have to take care of yourself too," Adrien said. "The last place I want to see you is back in a hospital room."

"I'll take care of myself," Marinette said.

Adrien smiled. "Well I'll let you get some more rest," he said. "Good night, Marinette. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Good night, Adrien," Marinette said.

After ending the call, Adrien went right to bed without bothering to change. He felt better knowing that Marinette was feeling better, but he was still worried that he hadn't heard anything from Ladybug. He really wanted to talk to her about Marinette. Adrien was slightly starting to doubt what he saw, but it wouldn't hurt to at least mention it to his Lady.

After sleeping for a few hours, Adrien awoke and shook Plagg awake as well. It was time for patrol. The patrol was an uneventful one as they had been the past few days. Chat Noir really didn't like Hawk Moth being this quiet.

"Let's head home, Plagg," Chat said. They hadn't even covered half of the area they normally would have.

It took Adrien far too long to go back to sleep once he and Plagg returned home. He looked at the kwami, jealous that Plagg could fall asleep so easily. Exhaustion eventually took over and allowed the boy to get some rest.

* * *

Before she knew it there were only two days left of the holiday, and Marinette still had not found Tikki. Talking with Adrien every day (as he did keep his promise and called her each evening) helped her calm down enough to keep a cool head when searching for the kwami.

Alya coming over soon paused Marinette's search. The girl was definitely not ready to tell her best friend that she was Ladybug, but she just couldn't transform at the moment. She considered consulting with Chat Noir about it, but she wasn't ready to reveal her identity to him either. Marinette wondered how Chat Noir was doing. She hadn't been keeping up with Alya's Ladyblog too much since she got out of the hospital. Marinette did know that an akuma hadn't attacked in a while.

"This break has been so boring!" Alya said once the two girls were in Marinette's room with snacks. "I was hoping I could get great footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir for the LadyBlog, but it's been so quiet!"

"Still no sightings of Ladybug?" Marinette asked.

"None. Which after the history textbook incident I'm now convinced she's a student! The biggest theory is that she's out of town on holiday." Alya was about to say something about Chat Noir, but noticed that Marinette had turned a cookie into crumbs from picking at it. "Is everything okay? Your head still bothering you?"

Marinette hadn't even realized she was rubbing her temple while destroying the cookie. "I'm still having headaches," Marinette admitted.

"Maybe you should see a different doctor?" Alya said.

"No, I don't feel like anything's wrong, just this constant, dull pain you know? Like that kind you get when you've been working on homework too much."

"Or haven't slept enough," Alya said. She pointed out the bags under Marinette's eyes.

Marinette sighed. She couldn't remember the last time she got a good night sleep. "I keep having this same dream, Alya." _'Not to mention I_ still _can't find Tikki,'_ she thought. "It's not quite a nightmare, but it's not really relaxing either. I'd rather be dreaming of my date with Adrien." Her voice almost cracked when she said his name. Seriously she was _over_ the picture, but it still felt like someone was poking her head with needles when she said or thought anything related to him. It was beyond frustrating. Especially since thinking of _Chloe_ didn't cause a headache like it normally should.

"So when is this 'date' with your _boyfriend,_ " Alya said through a smirk. The red head wouldn't admit it out loud, but she hoped Marinette would turn red and stutter trying to call Adrien her boyfriend. It would give her a sign that her friend actually was okay.

Marinette did blush. Even more so when she saw Alya's smile widen. "He said he wants to take me out to lunch on the first day back. His schedule's really packed because of his father so he barely has any free time. And he wants our first date to be a proper one, not rushed."

"I'm so happy for you," Alya said as she pulled Marinette into a light hug. She held onto Marinette's shoulders, but pushed back enough so she could see the girl's face. "But you let me know if he ever makes you cry again, okay? I've threatened him once so I doubt he will, but I will _definitely_ hurt him if he hurts you again." Marinette laughed. Alya forgot how much she missed hearing it. Marinette just wasn't herself if she wasn't smiling and happy.

"You'll be the first to know," Marinette said. "So do you have any plans today? It's been so quiet so I doubt there'll be a scoop for the LadyBlog today. Want to catch a movie?" It would give her a good reason to go outside and look for Tikki more.

"Let's go!" Alya said.

Marinette went to grab her shoes and jacket as Alya's phone went off. It was Nino.

"I'm actually with Marinette now! Meet you at the park then?"

"The park?" Marinette asked once Alya was off the phone.

"Nino went to watch the filming of a commercial Adrien's going to be in. They moved locations the park. He knew your parent's bakery was near here so he wanted to see if I you were feeling well enough to come out. He wants to surprise Adrien. And who knows maybe he'll have some free time to join us to see a movie." Alya winked.

Marinette tried to look as enthusiastic as possible. But if she were honest with herself and Alya, her headache was getting worse the closer they got to the park. Her heart rate increased when she saw him. Marinette hadn't actually seen Adrien since she took down all the pictures that she had of him in her room. His golden hair was completely slicked back which showed off his green eyes even more. Marinette felt her jaw being pushed up. She looked over to see Alya laughing at her, glad that her friend was back to her normal drooling over Adrien.

"I am not _drooling_ ," Marinette said as the two girls walked over to join Nino.

"Glad to see you up and moving around, dude!" Nino said. "You had us worried."

"Thanks," Marinette said, blushing slightly.

"Me and Mari are thinking of going to the movies after this," Alya said. "Want to join us?"

"Sounds awesome! We can go check out that new one that just came out!"

"Maybe Adrien can join us," Alya said. "Or does he have another job after this?"

Nino shook his head. "Nope the only thing he's got later is dinner with his father. Dude told me that if it goes well his dad might actually let him have tomorrow off!"

"Isn't that awesome Mari!" Alya nudged her friend.

"Y-yeah," Marinette said. _Hopefully he can get some rest then,_ Marinette thought. Adrien tried to hide his yawns whenever they talked on the phone, but she could tell from his voice he was exhausted.

Nino waved Adrien over when he heard the director call for a break. Marinette's blush deepened when Adrien met her eyes. His entire face lit up when he saw her.

She wanted to run into his arms. But her legs were frozen. She tried to smile, but her face felt frozen too. She knew he was calling her name, yet she couldn't hear him. The happiness in his eyes was fading. Marinette wondered what was wrong, but everything was become a blur. She looked at Adrien who was now sprinting towards her. _Chat?_ she thought as she remembered the green eyed black cat from her dreams. It was trying to meow at her, but she couldn't hear the cat either. All she could hear was that familiar voice.

' _Forget,'_ the voice said. ' _You're being treated like a puppet….'_ Marinette couldn't hear the rest as she thought she heard her name. She felt strong arms holding her. The voice spoke again saying, ' _Find Chat Noir… his ring… his miraculous….'_ She wanted to hear what the voice had to say, but the cat returned and was hissing louder than ever.

Adrien tried to control his breathing. But here was Marinette unconscious in his arms. There was no mistaking it this time. There was a red moth shape on her face. Adrien couldn't keep lying to himself that he was just making it up. He looked at Alya and Nino and knew—they could see it too. Marinette was the next victim of an akuma. The newest scoop Alya had been waiting for. The newest chance to catch another video of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien needed to transform.

Marinette needed Chat Noir.

She needed Ladybug.

* * *

 **A/N:** And here's chapter 5! Chapter 6 may not come for another few weeks as schoolwork demands my attention as term papers cannot write themselves. I apologize in advanced, but I'm thankful for everyone who has read this story, favorited it, followed it, or commented. You all are wonderful and have helped me overcome writer's block to get this chapter out. 3


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug.

 **Chapter 6: In Which Marinette Becomes an Akuma**

 _Marinette sat still as she watched the cat chase around the butterfly; she was still mesmerized by them. The cat purred loudly whenever it looked at her, but would start hissing if the butterfly got too close to the girl. Was the little black cat trying to protect her from the butterfly? It was distracting her from listening to the voice that echoed in her mind at least. The black cat ran towards Marinette and jumped into her lap._

" _Were you always a small kitten?" Marinette asked. She looked up at the purple butterfly. She didn't remember it being as big as she was. It landed in front of her, causing the kitten in her arms to hiss as loud as its small voice could._

" _Do you… do you want me to follow you?" Marinette asked the butterfly._

 _The butterfly took to the air and began to flutter towards the echoing voice. The kitten jumped off of Marinette's lap as she stood to follow. It mewed at her. Its green eyes were pleading for her to not go._

" _I'm sorry little kitty," Marinette said. "Please don't give me those eyes. I just… I have to know who it is."_

 _Marinette slowly followed the butterfly, ignoring the quiet mews behind her._

* * *

Marinette opened her eyes to find herself in a familiar pink room. She turned her head and saw Alya sitting in her computer chair. "Alya," Marinette said.

Alya's head jerked to look at her friend. "Marinette!" she shouted. She ran to Marinette's door and opened it. "Mrs. Cheng! Marinette's awake!" she shouted down the steps. Alya then rushed to her friend's side. "Marinette, are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"We went to the park to see Nino and Adrien and you collapsed. Adrien caught you before you hit the ground. He carried you, princess style might I add, back here. Your fever came back. Your face was… really red."

"I don't really remember much," Marinette said as she sat up. "I remembering see Adrien. And then my head starting hurting… like my fever had come back or something." Marinette placed her hand on her forehead. "But I… I feel fine now."

"Are you _sure_ you're fine?" Alya asked. Something about the way she said it didn't sit right with Marinette. Did something else happen after she blacked out?

"I'm sure," Marinette reassured. Her headache was gone and her forehead felt like normal.

Alya gave her a skeptical look. Before the red head could say any more, Sabine came into the room. She was relieved her daughter was feeling better. She did, however, insist that Marinette spend the rest of the day relaxing at home so as not to push herself. Marinette agreed when Alya said they could just watch a movie there.

The two girls curled up on the couch downstairs and watched movies all the rest of the day under Sabine's caring eye.

By the end of the night Marinette had her parents convinced she was back to normal health. But Alya wasn't. She still didn't believe Marinette was okay when she left, but Marinette assured her everything was fine and she would see her in school the next day. As soon as she was out of the bakery Alya pulled out her phone.

"Marinette said she was fine, but I don't buy it," Alya said as soon as Nino answered. "Has there been any Ladybug or Chat Noir activity?"

"None," Nino said. "Adrien won't answer his phone either. I think he's still out searching for Ladybug. But Alya, are you really sure Marinette's going to be the next baddie Ladybug and Chat Noir have to fight? Wouldn't she have transformed and attacked someone by now? It's been hours!"

"I know what we saw, Nino, and trust me, I've followed Ladybug around enough and actually seen someone transform. That red mark on her face… Marinette's definitely next. I just wish I knew where the akuma was so I could tell Ladybug!"

* * *

Adrien stared at the newest post on the Ladyblog. Alya had left out Marinette's name, but she did write that she knew who the next akuma was and for Ladybug and Chat Noir to contact her immediately.

"Let's go, Plagg," Adrien said.

"Again? We already looked for Ladybug today! And I want to enjoy my camembert," Plagg said.

Adrien sighed. "I'll give you even more camembert when we get back, Plagg," he pleaded. "I should've tried harder to find her sooner. Marinette really was possessed by an akuma, and I've done nothing to try and help her this whole time!"

"If her will was strong enough to fight it this long she's gonna be a really scary akuma," Plagg mumbled.

Adrien was too busy mentally cursing at himself to hear what his kwami said. "Okay, enough waiting around, transform me, Plagg!"

Chat Noir and raced across the rooftops of Paris. He sometimes wished he too could purify akuma so he could be of more use to Ladybug. Yet he was glad he couldn't because then Ladybug was always needed. Chat Noir made a mental note that when he found Ladybug he was going to tell her that this was a reason they should know each others civilian identities.

He covered half of Paris and still couldn't find any sign of Ladybug. Chat Noir cursed as he decided to head home so he could check in with Alya on how Marinette was doing. She had fought against an akuma possession for this long. Who knew what kind of toll that had taken on her body.

Chat Noir made it to the Eiffel Tower when he thought he saw something red zip by.

"Ladybug!" he cried out.

Chat Noir had always been curious about Ladybug's kwami, wondering if they were anything like Plagg.

This was not how he wanted to meet.

Tikki slammed into Chat Noir's chest. "I finally found you!" she said between breaths. "Ladybug… Ladybug is in trouble!"

"Is she hurt? Is an akuma attacking her civilian self?"

Tikki shook her head. "Ladybug… she's been possessed by an akuma! She's been fighting against it for so long, but she hasn't noticed. Hawk Moth has been coming to her in her sleep." Tikki began crying. "I wanted to tell her where the akuma was. I wanted to be there for her and tell her to fight it. But—"

"If she becomes possessed and controlled by Hawk Moth then he could get her Miraculous," Chat Noir said.

Tikki nodded.

"This is even worse!" Chat yelled. "Both my lady and my girlfriend are possessed at the same time!" _Wait…_

"Two akuma?" Tikki said. "This is bad… Chat Noir, I always respect what Ladybug wants to do with her identity, but I _need_ to tell you who she is so you can help her fight against the akuma! She's been saying your name in her sleep ever since so maybe…."

"How long has Ladybug been fighting the possession?" _This has to just be a very, very strong coincidence._

Tikki was surprised Chat didn't react to knowing that Marinette had been calling out to him in her sleep. "It was at the beginning of the half term holiday. She's a student."

Chat Noir's heart rate began to increase. Plagg supplied Chat with the Ladybug-like kwami's name. "Tikki… what's Ladybug's name?"

"Marinette. You've met her before. She was—"

"Marinette Dupin-Cheng," Chat said. He watched Tikki nod.

Chat Noir should be ecstatic that his lady is Marinette. He should be laughing at himself for never noticing the similarities between the two before. But now wasn't the time for that. His Lady, his Princess, his Marinette was possessed by an akuma, and she is the only one who can purify akuma.

"Tikki, there's only one akuma," Chat Noir said as he released his transformation. Adrien Agreste held Tikki and Plagg in his hands. "What are we going to do?"

* * *

Marionette sighed as she read the Ladyblog. There was a plea from Alya to Ladybug and Chat Noir. Another akuma attack. Marinette had frantically searched for Tikki when she initially saw the post titled: "LADYBUG CHAT NOIR. URGENT. AKUMA ATTACK." But Tikki was still nowhere to be found.

"What am I going to do?" Marinette said to herself as she climbed up to her bed. "Chat Noir can't purify the akuma. And I can't exactly approach him as Marinette. What would I even say? 'Oh hey, Chat Noir, remember me? I'm Ladybug, but I can't transform to prove it, but you have to trust me! Help me find my kwami!'" Marinette laughed. "That'll never work."

Marinette went up to terrace. For there being an akuma attack Paris was oddly quiet. And there was little chance she'd see Chat Noir running across roof tops nearby to flag him down. There was also a slim chance she'd see Tikki, but Marinette still tried to look. _Could Hawk Moth have captured her?_ Marinette thought. No, she had to believe that Tikki was just lost in the city. She couldn't let herself think Tikki was in the hands of the enemy.

She returned to her room to get out of the chilly air. Seeing the post from Alya on her computer screen Marinette thought that maybe she could do something similar. Maybe she could get a message to Chat Noir and pretend it came from Ladybug. Before she could get to her desk to start writing out her letter, her phone went off. Marinette went to retrieve it from her day bed, but noticed a small purple piece of paper on the floor next to one of the legs of the bed. She didn't remember having any purple paper. Especially not purple photograph paper. Marinette turned the paper over. Her eyes widened. A purple tinted Adrien was smiling up at her.

Her head was now throbbing. A fading voice inside of her screamed that she needed to rip up the picture, but Marinette was frozen in place. Another voice insider her head rang loud and clear.

"I am Hawk Moth. I can feel how tired of the pain you are. You've been pulled this way and that by your friends, your classmates, this boy. Even he isn't free to do as he wish, having his life dictated to him like a puppet. I can give you the power to end that—the power to be the one in control. All I ask if for one favour in return… bring me the Miraculous."

"With pleasure," Marinette said. The red moth outline now prominent on her skin as a purple outline of a moth hovers in front of her face.

"Excellent," Hawk Moth said. "Now go, _La Marionnettiste_."

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's chapter 6! Wow it's been a long time since I last updated... so sorry about that! The longest paper I've ever written in my academic career demanded my attention and unfortunately my semester still isn't over. I've got one more week of finals so it'll be another week and a half or so before the next chapter will come.

So who else enjoyed the English premiere? I loved their voices! Definitely looking forward to the next episode coming our way.

And as for Marinette's akuma name I did think about using Marionette instead... but I've got some plans and Marionette just didn't fit in with them.

Well, until next chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN: In Which Chat Noir Finds Out the Answer to a Dark Question**

"Excellent," Hawk Moth said. "Now go, _La Marionnettiste_."

A black cloud began to swirl from the picture in Marinette's hand. "Not so fast, Hawk Moth," she said. "I can't exactly go to school tomorrow looking like an akuma now can I? Besides…" Marinette walked back towards her desk, the Ladyblog still on the monitor. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have been given a warning. No sense picking a fight they're prepared for."

"What plan do you have in mind then, _La Marionnettiste_?" Hawk Moth asked.

Marinette could hear the skepticism in his voice. "Just trust me," she said. "I'll get that kitty's ring in due time. It'll be like a game of cat and mouse… except he won't be filling the role of the cat."

Marinette smirked as she heard Hawk Moth's approving evil laughter. She looked back down at the picture of Adrien in her now gloved hand. At least it was getting cold out so gloves could be easily explained away. Though she might have to explain why the gloves don't fully cover her hands.

A faint mewing in her head was becoming an annoyance, however. Marinette shoved the picture into her pocket. The mewing disappeared from her mind when she was no longer looking at the picture.

Marinette scrolled through the photo gallery on the Ladyblog. She made a mental list of how all the previous akuma failed to get their hands on the Miraculous. Lady Wifi had a good idea—just let their transformations run out. But that would required Chat Noir to use Cataclysm. Marinette would need to trap him somehow. Force him to use his power. She kept scrolling through pictures until she landed on a certain one she would like to forget.

She doesn't even remember someone being there, but there on her screen was a picture of Ladybug pulling Chat Noir into a kiss. It was the only way to free him from the spell he was under. True love's kiss… the stuff of fairy tales.

Marinette touched her hand to a pen that was on her desk. As she lifted her hand, strings appeared. She moved her fingers directing the strings to move the pen up and down, making it dance about. "Strings, huh," she said. She looked at her pinky finger and smiled. "He always was a romantic."

* * *

Adrien both dreaded and looked forward to going to school. He took one last look in his bag before closing it and exiting the car onto the familiar curb in front of his school. Both Tikki and Plagg had the same worried expression Adrien had.

"Adrien!" Nino called. He and Alya were standing by the stairs.

"Is Marinette here?" Adrien asked Alya. The girl nodded.

"That's what's weird," Alya said. "She came _early._ The girl met me at my house this morning to walk to school together. She was her normal self! No new outfit or mask on her face. Can anyone even fight the transformation?"

"Maybe," Adrien said, though he doubted his own words. If she really could fight it alone then her kwami would not be in his bag right now.

The three friends walked up the steps into the school. One inside they noticed a distinct lack of students, teachers, anyone. The halls and classrooms were silent.

"Where is everybody?" Nino asked.

"She told me to tell everyone not to come to school. I made a post on the school blog and called the principal and told him an akuma was attacking the school," Alya said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nino practically shouted.

"Because Marinette's the akuma! She's our friend, Nino, and my best friend! I _have_ to try and help her if I can! You would do the same thing for Adrien wouldn't you?"

Nino looked at Adrien and then back at Alya. "Of course I would try to help out my best bro."

"Then let's go," Alya said, her voice quivered slightly.

Adrien's grip on the strap to his bag tightened. He didn't like the quiet, even though he knew it meant there was no one around to get hurt. Alya pulled her phone out, ready to record anything. The three slowly made their way to their classroom. Inside, they found Marinette sitting peacefully at her desk.

"Alya!" Marinette stood. "I was wondering when you would get here."

"Marinette," Adrien said. His green eyes met her blue ones.

"Alya, I told you to tell everyone to not come to school today," Marinette said, her tone harsh.

"I know, girl, but we're your friends! You can talk to us!" Alya said.

Marinette walked down the steps to the bottom level of the classroom. "You three need to leave. I don't want you three to get hurt."

Adrien, Alya, and Nino watched as a dark purple cloud began to spread across Marinette's body. Adrien's green eyes remained locked with Marinette's blue ones as her clothes were transformed. The dark cloud gone revealed La Marionnettiste in a black skin tight, sleeveless mock neck with the neck being bright pink fabric contrasting against the black. Marinette's once pink skinny jeans were now transformed into a dark pink ones that led into black boots that had pink trim. Her jacket was now white and the sleeves were rolled down. On the back of her jacket were five pink dots in the same pattern as the black dots of Ladybug's earrings.

Adrien kept looking into her eyes. Though the smile remained on her face, the kindness from her eyes was gone. Her blue eyes no longer looked like starlight to him. Now they were ice.

La Marionnettiste walked towards the classroom door.

"Marinette!" Alya shouted. La Marionnettiste looked at Alya, noticing the red head had her phone in hand, its camera pointed towards Marinette. "Are you going after Chloe?" It was a safe assumption. Most all of the akumatized people did attack the blonde.

La Marionnettiste let out a small laugh. "And waste my time? Please, Alya. I have larger prey to catch."

"You mean… Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"I won't have to wait long for the cat," La Marionnettiste said with a smile. She nodded towards Alya's phone. "I'm guessing that will be posted on the Ladyblog soon? Don't worry—I won't leave the school." La Marionnettiste met Adrien's eyes again and then left the classroom.

"Alya—" Adrien started to say.

"I'm posting it right now," Alya said. "Ladybug may have been absent recently, but she's got to come now that there's an akuma!"

"Okay, Alya, but you and Nino need to go!"

"What are you talking about, Adrien? There's _no_ way I'm going to leave my best friend. And especially not when we might finally see Ladybug again!"

"You heard her! It's not going to be safe here. Nino, take her and go!" Adrien pleaded.

"What about you, bro?"

"Marinette's my girlfriend. I'm probably the cause of this. Maybe I can talk her down until Ladybug can purify the akuma." _If she can even transform into Ladybug like that._

Alya insisted on staying, but Nino managed to drag her out of the classroom and towards the front door. Adrien let out a sigh when he saw them leave.

"Plagg, Tikki, let's go!" Adrien said as he opened his bag. He quickly transformed into Chat Noir and began searching through the school with Tikki right behind him. He checked classrooms, bathrooms, the locker room, but all were completely empty. Chat Noir was about to open the doors to the library when he heard the movement of furniture scrapping against the floor.

"Be careful, Chat Noir," Tikki said. "We don't know how much La Marrionnetiste is Marinette and—"

"How much of her is following Hawkmoth. Don't worry, Tikki, I'll look after my ring."

"I know you will, Adrien," the kwami said, "but I'm more worried about you. Marinette doesn't know who you are. She thinks Adrien left the school and will be somewhere safe. If something happens to you then if she does still have control of herself even use a little bit…."

"I won't let Hawkmoth win, Tikki. We're going to get her _back."_

Chat Noir opened the door to the library slowly. His hand was on his baton as he took one step at a time. Tikki clung to his shoulder. Bookshelves had been moved to create a pathway leading to a cleared out area in the middle of the room. Once he reached the middle the bookshelves fell on their sides to lie flat on the floor, almost as if they were pulled down. Chat Noir turned around. His eyes trailed from the fallen shelves to the balcony above. She stood there, glove hands tenderly touching the railing as she grinned, her eyes locked onto him.

"I knew it wouldn't take long for you to come, my little kitty," La Marionnettiste said. "You are Alya's top visitor on the Ladyblog, aren't you?"

"What do you want, Marinette?"

"Aw, no funny entrance?" she teased. When he didn't retort she dropped her smiled and narrowed her eyes. "Isn't it obvious by now? What have all akuma been after?"

Chat Noir clenched his fists. "True, but they're usually after Chloe."

" _Again_ with _Chloe_ ," La Marionnettiste said as she began to walk along the balcony, her right hand gliding across the railing. "Why is everyone always looking to her, letting themselves be controlled by her… they're just making her more of a spoiled brat than she already is!"

"What about Adrien? He chose _you,_ Princess!" Marinette stopped walking.

"Enough talk, Chat Noir. Your miraculous is mine!"

La Marionnettiste swung herself down to the lower level of the library. A purple string extended from her hand to the railing. The momentum swung her back into the wall under the balcony. She kicked off of the wall and swung towards Chat Noir. Chat extended his baton and raised it to block La Marionnettiste. She grabbed hold of it as she continued to fly past Chat, causing him to fall backwards. Chat caught himself and went to throw his baton at La Marionnettiste, but instead it was ripped from his hands and was pulled back towards the wall, a purple string now attached to it.

Chat looked to his baton. La Marionnettiste used the chance to run towards him and kick his left foot out. Chat quickly recovered and spun around to kick La Marionnettiste, but she easily blocked it with her arm. She glared at him, her neutral expression turning into a scowl. La Marionnettiste went for another kick, but Chat dodged it. He continued to dodge her kicks and the books she threw at him. Any attack she made he either dodged or blocked. He barely initiated any of his own.

"I didn't realize you were such a coward!" La Marionnettiste yelled as she kicked Chat Noir in the stomach, knocking him back towards his baton that was dangling from a string connected to the balcony above. "Or is this some form of chilvary? Afraid to hurt a girl?"

"I don't want to hurt _you_ , Princess!" Chat Noir said as he stood. He grabbed his baton and used his claws to tear apart the string.

He used his baton to knock away a chair at Marinette had thrown towards him. He was shocked by how close she had gotten. La Marionnettiste charged right into him. The two tumbled to the ground until they smacked into one of the bookshelves, causing her to end up on top of him. She went for his ring, but her hand was knocked away before she could removed it by a speeding red object. La Marionnettiste looked towards where the flash of red went, but was knocked over by Chat Noir. He moved to get up, but almost fell back to the ground as she had grabbed onto his right hand. Chat jerked his hand away and ran towards the exit of the library. La Marionnettiste watched the red kwami flying after him.

"So that's where Tikki went," she said.

* * *

Chat Noir stopped in the gym. He knew he had to keep Marinette in the school to avoid any bystanders, but he needed a more open space. The library offered to many things she could throw at him or control with her strings. Chat noticed some gym equipment had purple strings attached to them and quickly ripped those apart. He really didn't want Marinette throwing metal chairs at him. Wooden ones were bad enough.

"Thanks for the save back there, Tikki," he said when he felt the kwami land on his shoulder. "That was too close."

"Chat Noir, I know you don't want to fight against Marinette, but we need to rip up the photo that has the akuma in it! If we can weaken Hawk Moth's control over her then maybe she can be herself long enough to purify it," Tikki said.

Adrien knew she was right. He knew, but he still didn't like the idea of hurting Marinette more than he already had.

"Okay time to—" Chat Noir words were cut off when he felt a tug at his right hand. He looked and his Miraculous was still there, but there was now a bright red string tied around his pinky finger, pulling at him. He tried to rip the string with his claws, but they had no effect.

Being tied to Marinette with a red string of fate should make Adrien ecstatic. But like this? He was nothing but her puppet to move around as she pleased. The worst part was that no matter how hard he pulled the string would not come off and it couldn't be cut.

"Don't waste your time. It won't work," La Marionnettiste said as she walked down the steps towards the gym floor. "You've heard the stories haven't you? The red string of fate cannot be cut so easily."

Chat Noir looked at the string on his hand and then followed the path of the string back at La Marionnettiste.

"We're tied together now, my little kitty," La Marionnettiste said as she held up her hand, showing the end of the string was tied to her pinky.

Chat shivered at her words. The way she said them was both enticing and terrifying.

He grimaced. Marinette's smile grew wider at the sight. "Though perhaps there might be one way to cut the red string of fate… but I'm not sure you could handle it."

"What?"

"You've got a choice to make, Chat Noir," La Marionnettiste said, her smile gone. "Hand over your Miraculous and I'll let you go free, or refuse then you'll forever be bound to me as my puppet. Either way the Miraculous will still be mine… you just have to choose whether or not you want to stay in control of yourself or not."

"I'll never hand over the Miraculous! And I'll never be your puppet!"

"Why don't you try your Cataclysm?" she taunted with a sigh. "It can destroy anything can't it?"

Chat Noir thought of using his cataclysm on the red string. But what if it did work. What then? He would only have minutes before his transformation wore off and he didn't have any more cheese at school to give to Plagg. There would be no way for him to transform back into Chat Noir right away. And even if he did destroy that string Marinette could still make more. He had to prevent her from making more… but how?

 _Her glove,_ he thought. _If I can destroy her glove the strings will go away._

A memory flashed in Chat Noir's mind. He barely remembered the events between him being hit by the akumatized Kim's arrow and when he released from the spell of it. But thanks to a random citizen, video footage of it was on the Ladyblog. He would never admit how many times he replayed the moment when Ladybug kissed him, but one moment of the video always made him slightly afraid of his powers. It was a question he left buried deep in his subconscious that he of course had to say out loud.

 _I'll have to make sure I only touch the fingers of her gloves so I don't touch her skin_ , he thought.

"And waste it? I won't give you the cat-isfaciton," he retorted.

La Marionnettiste smirked. That was the pun-loving Chat she knew.

La Marionnettiste jumped into the air and landed behind Chat Noir. He turned around a parry a kick he could see coming with one of his own, but mid-swing his leg shifted and was lower than he intended. This gave Marinette a clean shot to land her kick in his side. Chat grabbed Marinette's leg to try and prevent her from moving, but he felt his grip weaken. He looked down at his hands and noticed the string had a faint glow to it. He noticed it glow again when he tried to tighten his grip only for his hold on her leg to be released completely.

 _She can control my body_ , he thought. _At this rate I'll never be able to find the akuma._

Chat jumped back away from La Marionnettiste. He didn't bother going into a defensive stance. "Looks like you've managed to collar this cat," he said.

"No, Chat Noir! don't give up!" Tikki shouted.

"I'm sorry, Tikki," Chat Noir said as he slowly walked towards Marinette."You win, Princess. I'll give you my Miraculous." He ignored the protests from Tikki and the ones from Plagg he heard ringing in his head as he held out his hand to Marinette for her to take his ring. "Just promise me I get to stay by your side, my Lady," he said.

Marinette looked up from his ring to meet his eyes and with a wide smile. She realized a second too late what he was doing.

Chat Noir reached for her glove and activated his cataclysm. His hand made contact with hers. He saw the glove deteriorate and the red string vanish. Chat silently praised himself for his success in tricking Marinette.

Until his world shattered around him.

Marinette let out a horrifying scream. Her face was pale. Eyes filled with tears.

Chat Noir looked to her trembling arm and then down to her hand. The hand he touched.

" _I've always wondered what Cataclysm would do to a person."_

* * *

A/N: I apologize greatly for how long it took it took me to finish this chapter. The holidays were far busier than I expected. Next thing I knew the new semester was starting and school work started piling up very fast and I was cursed with writer's block until some helpful advice from my professor. I know it's just excuses, but again I do apologize. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to more!

I also have not seen the episode with Marionnettiste yet. I purposefully have not watched it and do not plan to watch it until this story is finished for the purpose of not letting it affect how I portray Marinette as La Marionnettiste. Though it is really cool that Marionnettiste and a puppeteer akuma were used in the show!

Again I hope you look forward to the next chapter!


End file.
